Microsoft Surface Laptop has its fans. It’s thin, fast, and functional. The latest version of the laptop also features the new generation of ARM-based Snapdragon Elite chips from Qualcomm on Windows-based computers. But it seems Microsoft may surprise all those who want an Intel x86 Lunar Lake chip that can outperform in performance and battery life without sacrificing software compatibility.
A Microsoft Surface laptop appeared on the Chinese Goofish site carrying an Intel Lunar Lake chip designed for very small laptops. Redditors and Windows Central were the first to discover this leak, but this is something Gizmodo cannot independently confirm since the entry has been deleted since then. Based on unknown sources; Windows Central indicated that Microsoft is testing Lunark Lake Surface laptops. These new models could arrive in 2025 if the unknown sources are confirmed.
We do not know if Microsoft will simply repeat the Surface Laptop 7 or launch the new Surface Laptop 8, but we are much more interested in how this specific Surface will handle the Intel Core Ultra 7 268V. This is a significant step compared to many first-generation laptops smaller than 16 inches with Lunar Lake, such as the Asus ZenBook 14, which either features Core Ultra 7 256V or 258V, while larger laptops like the unreleased Acer Swift 16 AI are supposed to have Core Ultra 9 288V.
If Microsoft is considering launching the next generation of the Surface Laptop, it will be at the top of its class. The 268V has four cores and four threads, as well as a 5.0 GHz clock speed and the second highest clock speed for the Arc 140V graphics processing unit in the Ultra 2 lineup. It has the same memory as the more advanced Core Ultra 9 288V, although it does not have the same basic TDP.
The specific listing on Goofish indicated that the price of this supposed Surface laptop was 19000 Chinese Yuan, or $2600. This price should be taken with caution, although the specs are interesting. It had 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, so it would be one of the more advanced configurations. The current Surface Laptop 7 with a 13.8-inch screen featuring the Snapdragon Elite CPU and 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD starts at $2000, while the 15-inch version starts at $2100.
The previous version of the Surface Laptop with Meteor Lake first-generation chips was only available in the company’s business line. Enterprise laptops are usually more expensive than consumer devices, so there may be a reason for the higher price listed on Goofish as well.
Although we at Gizmodo were not very happy with the form factor and battery life of the Surface Pro 11, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite chip is not a joke. It easily outperforms Meteor Lake and Apple M3 Chips in many standards in multi-core settings. Intel’s Arrow Lake chips were hoping to prove that ARM is not the future, but we are still waiting for advanced chips in an actual laptop to prove this point.
